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Joey Curletta

Red Sox Announce Series Of 40-Man Moves

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According to an official team release, the Red Sox are tinkering with the 40-man roster to make room for a number of September call-ups. Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com has the rundown on all the moves, which include the activation of left-hander David Price from the injured list. Newly-signed righty Jhoulys Chacin, catcher Juan Centeno, and outfielder Gorkys Hernandez have all been added to the 40-man roster. To make space for the above trio, injured pitchers Chris Sale and Steven Wright have been transferred to the 60-day injured list, while first baseman Joey Curletta was outrighted to Double-A.

Price last pitched for Boston in early August before a wrist issue forced him to the injured list—his second stint this season. As for much of his Red Sox tenure, it’s been a rocky year for Price, whose hefty contract looms in the face of good—not great—numbers.

Chacin, who yesterday inked a minor-league deal with Boston, will have a crack at the rotation as he seeks to redeem himself from a disappointing season in Milwaukee, which released him just a year removed from a stellar year. With the injury to Sale and many other options underperforming on the mound, Chacin represents a low-risk signee for a September audition.

Curletta has yet to make his big-league debut, and that milestone will have to wait a bit longer for the 25-year-old, a 2012 draftee of the Dodgers. He’ll remain with Double-A Portland though no longer on the Boston 40-man roster. He’s spent this season between the two levels of the upper minors, posting a combined .678 OPS with 14 home runs.

Centeno, 29, and Hernandez, 31, will each make their Red Sox debuts. Neither has appeared in the Major Leagues this season after inking minor-league contracts last winter. Centeno, who will offer depth beyond Christian Vazquez and Sandy Leon, is the owner of a career .227/.278/.331 batting line, playing parts of six Major League seasons with the Mets, Brewers, Twins, Astros, and Rangers. Hernandez made a name for himself with the Giants, where he played the previous three seasons. In 2018, he enjoyed a career year as he was given regular playing time, posting a .676 OPS to go with 15 home runs.

Red Sox Claim Joey Curletta

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Per a team announcement, the Red Sox have claimed 1B Joey Curletta off waivers from Seattle.

Curletta, 25, was placed on the Mariner 40-man after a solid (.282/.383/.482) showing for Double-A Arkansas last season. Baseball America, who ranked the 6’4 righty 22nd overall in a poor Seattle system entering the year, noted that the husky first-baseman “draws comparisons” to current Mariner DH Dan Vogelbach.

A poor early-season showing on the bandbox circuit that now serves as the Pacific Coast League, where a staggering 38 players currently boast an OPS north of .900, left Curletta, who’s been old for the level since repeating High-A for the third time in 2017, expendable.

The former sixth-rounder will reportedly be assigned to AA-Portland in the Boston system.

Mariners Claim John Andreoli, Select Joey Curletta

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The Mariners have claimed outfielder John Andreoli off waivers from the Orioles, per club announcements. Seattle also added first baseman/outfielder Joey Curletta to its 40-man roster.

Andreoli, 28, debuted in the bigs last year with the Seattle organization before landing with the O’s via waiver claim. That’s now reversed, though it remains to be seen whether he’ll keep his roster spot throughout the winter. Andreoli did not hit much in limited MLB opportunities, but posted a .287/.397/.401 slash in 388 Triple-A plate appearances last year.

As for Curletta, 24, the move will prevent him from achieving minor-league free agency. Primarily a right fielder during his prior minor-league campaigns, Curletta appeared mostly at first base last year at the Double-A level. He ended up posting a career-best output, with a .282/.383/.482 batting line and 23 long balls over 556 plate appearances.

Phillies, Mariners Swap Joey Curletta, Pat Venditte

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The Phillies have traded outfielder Joey Curletta to the Mariners for ambidextrous reliever Pat Venditte, per an announcement from Philadelphia.

This is the second trade since last August involving the 31-year-old Venditte, whom Seattle acquired from Toronto for minor league infielder Tim Lopes. A 20th-round pick of the Yankees in 2008, Venditte debuted in the majors with the Athletics in 2015 and has since logged a 4.97 ERA, 7.46 K/9, 4.09 BB/9 and 36.2 percent ground-ball rate in 50 2/3 innings. Twenty-two of those frames came last year for Venditte, who ran up a 5.73 ERA between the Blue Jays and Mariners.

While he possesses the ultra-rare capability of being able to pitch with either arm, Venditte has been far more successful as a southpaw, having held left-handed hitters to a .179/.242/.366 line. Righty-swingers have handled him, evidenced by a .277/.380/.523 line. Currently pitching for Italy in the World Baseball Classic, Venditte will join the Phillies as a non-roster player when the team is eliminated or the tournament ends, per Jayson Stark of ESPN (Twitter link).

Curletta, who turned 23 this past Monday, has also been involved in a pair of trades since last year. The Phillies acquired him from the Dodgers in September to complete the deal that featured catchers Carlos Ruiz and A.J. Ellis. The Dodgers chose Curletta in the sixth round of the 2012 draft, and he has since ascended to the Double-A level. Curletta struggled there last year, though, as he hit just .206/.280/.371 in 107 plate appearances.

Baseball America previously wrote that the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Curletta is a “physical monster” with “light-tower power” as a right-handed hitter. However, scouts have questioned whether he’ll hit in the big leagues, and BA noted that doesn’t provide any speed or defensive value. Curletta will now head to the Mariners’ minor league camp, tweets Greg Johns of MLB.com.

Phillies Acquire Joey Curletta To Complete Carlos Ruiz Trade

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The Phillies announced today that they’ve acquired outfield prospect Joey Curletta from the Dodgers to complete last month’s Carlos Ruiz trade. The trade, then, will officially go in the books as Ruiz to the Dodgers in exchange for A.J. Ellis, Curletta and right-hander Tommy Bergjans.

Curletta, 22, was a sixth-round pick by the Dodgers out of Mountain Point High School in Phoenix, Ariz. back in 2012. He’s split the season between Class-A Advanced and Double-A for the second straight year, though his numbers in 2016 are superior to the ones he logged as a 21-year-old at those same levels in 2015. Curletta has batted .251/.323/.463 with 17 homers, 17 doubles and five triples in 409 plate appearances this season, though his 30 percent strikeout rate is indicative of the fact that there’s still plenty of room for growth in the right-handed hitter’s approach at the plate.

Curletta didn’t rank among the Dodgers’ top 30 prospects, though Baseball America has previously written that his two best tools are his raw power and his throwing arm. The 6’4″, 245-pounder has been described by BA as a “physical monster” in the past and has been limited to the corner outfield (primarily right field), where his strong arm profiles rather well.

J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group was the first to report that Curletta was headed to the Phils to complete the trade (Twitter link).

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